PS Plus Is a Better Model Than Game Pass, Devs Agree
An increasing amount of developers are echoing former PlayStation boss Jim Ryan’s views on PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass. Ryan was once criticized for suggesting that the Game Pass model was unsustainable, but following the recent Microsoft layoffs that severely gutted the Xbox division, veteran developers are speaking out against Game Pass.
Industry realizing Sony’s Jim Ryan was right about PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass
The conversation was kicked off by industry veteran and Arkane Studios founder Raphael Colantonio. In response to the Xbox layoffs, Colantonio asked why no one was talking about Game Pass, which he referred to as “the elephant in the room” over on X.
“I think Game Pass is an unsustainable model that has been increasingly damaging the industry for a decade, subsidized by Microsoft’s ‘infinite money’, but at some point reality has to hit,” Colantonio continued.
In response, Baldur’s Gate 3 studio Larian’s Michael Douse agreed, pointing out the obvious i.e. “the infinite money thing never made any sense.” Colantonio then replied by calling Microsoft’s messaging surrounding Game Pass “bull****,” stating what many have been saying: putting AAA games on Game Pass day-one does hurt sales.
“The economics never made sense, but at the same time I do recognize that for smaller teams with new or riskier IPs it helped de-risk,” Douse replied. “Much prefer Sony’s ‘lifecycle management’ strategy.”
The conversation carried on, but the takeaway is that “the only way Game Pass can co-exist without hurting everyone is for the back catalog,” in Colantonio’s words — precisely the PS Plus strategy.
The debate is still raging over on X and gaming forums like Reddit and ResetEra. Some have argued that there are certain games players wouldn’t play if they weren’t added to Game Pass. Others have countered that argument by pointing out that there’s very little evidence of subscription services increasing sales.
Someone even dared to bring up Concord, arguing that the game may have benefitted from launching on PS Plus. However, this too was countered by people pointing out that Concord’s beta was completely free. Yet, a negligible amount of players took part in it, suggesting that Firewalk’s doomed shooter was beyond saving.
What do our readers think?
